Applying for an Israeli Tourist Visa at the Ministry of Interior

How to Apply for an Israeli Tourist Visa

The state of Israel, as any sovereign state in the world, has the right to protect its borders and allow entry into the country for foreigners according to its sole discretion. Foreign citizens who wish to visit Israel must receive an Israeli tourist visa (also called a B/2 visa). Citizens of most countries are required to obtain this visa to Israel in advance, with the exception of citizens of countries which have a reciprocal agreement with Israel. This agreement exempts them from the need to obtain an Israeli tourist visa in advance at the Israeli Consulate in their home country.

Those who are required to obtain a tourist visa to Israel must act according to the Israeli Ministry of Interior’s (Misrad HaPanim) procedure:

• As a rule, anyone wanting to visit Israel needs to submit an application for an Israeli tourist visa at the Israeli Embassy or Israeli Consulate in their country of residence.

• There are exceptions to this rule. For example, if there is no Israeli representative office in the foreign citizen’s country, if there were problems with a previous illegal stay in Israel or if the foreign citizen was previously denied entrance into Israel, an Israeli citizen or permanent resident may invite a foreign citizen to visit Israel. In order to invite a foreign citizen from abroad with an Israeli tourist visa, the Israeli citizen must submit an application form in the Office of Population and Immigration in Israel.

Documentation

If you want to apply for an Israeli tourist visa, you must prepare the following documents:

1. Application form for entry visa to Israel in your name, requiring a separate request form for each person.
2. Clear passport photographs.
3. A minor is required to present a notarized letter of authorization from both parents, and the letter must be signed in front of the Consul of Israel.
4. Applicant’s proof of employment.
5. Payment confirmation for an Israeli tourist visa application fee.
6. A letter with detailed explanations, which includes the following information:

• Type of relationship between the Israeli citizen and the foreign citizen who has been invited to Israel.

• The duration of the visit.

• Whether or not the foreign citizen from abroad who has been invited to Israel has visited Israel in the past.

• Profession.

• Family status; information about a spouse.

• Written commitment that the foreign citizen who has been invited to Israel will not work in Israel and will leave Israel before the Israeli tourist visa expires.

If you are an Israeli citizen or permanent resident of Israel and you want to invite a foreign citizen from abroad to visit Israel, you must prepare the following documents: 

1. Your Israeli identity card.
2. Proof of family relationship: birth certificate, marriage certificate or divorce papers, translated into Hebrew and notarized by a public notary.
3. Shared photos together with the foreign citizen from abroad who has been invited to visit Israel as a tourist.
4. Letters of correspondence.
5. Listing of phone calls which were made between the Israeli and the foreigner.
6. Employment pay slips received in recent months.
7. Payment of Israeli tourist visa fee. The sum of the fee is updated from time to time.
8. An invitation letter detailing the relationship between the inviter and the invitee, the purpose and date of entry into Israe, and translated documents proving that the invitee’s “life center” is in their country of origin and they do not intend to settle in Israel – three recent payslips, bank account statements, etc.
9. A statement by the inviter that the tourist has no intention of settling and/or working during their stay in the country, have no relatives who are in the country as tourists and asylum seekers, and a set of other circumstances indicating that there is no intention of settling.

The Israeli Population and Immigration Authority at the Ministry of Interior has the right to require additional documents after the application for the Israeli tourist visa has been accepted and before the Israeli Interior Ministry clerks make their final decision. Officials of the Interior Ministry who handle the application process for the Israeli tourist visa will make their decision based on the submitted documents and will answer in accordance with a procedure.

Please note that if the answer to the Israeli tourist visa application is negative, there is a possibility to appeal against the decision. You can appeal to the head office of the Immigration Authority in Jerusalem or continue the legal procedures through a court of law.

Please contact our law firm for legal advice and assistance regarding Israeli tourist visas or for more information regarding immigration to Israel.

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